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It hooks to the sink and makes it very easy, there are DIY versions of these out there too

-To do a good water change without any special tools, just scope or siphon out 50% of the water into buckets etc
-Add in enough of a dechlorinator to treat the entire tank, so with a 10 gallon tank, if you do 50% water change, add enough dechlor to treat 10 gallons, not just 5
-Add water back in gently, as to not slam the water into the fish, I used to set the cup in on an angle and slowly dump it out

The reason the siphons or gravel vacs are good is because if you don't clean the gravel it can lead to issues. I don't clean my gravel often, but only b/c I have a heavy planted tank that can absorb the wastes. For now though just change the water out, and get a gravel vac or something next time your out (or order offline to save a few $)

to do a DIY version of that you will need:
1. Water bed filler - 1ea
2. A 3/4" Ball Valve (try for plastic) - 1 ea
3. 3/4" tubing (home depot like $.50/ft) - as much as you need from sink to tank + 10ft
4. Stainless steal round clamps - around 5 ea
5. Adapter from 3/4" tubing to 3/4" hose fitting (F)
6. Buy a premade gravel vac tube (just tube and a little hose), tried to find this piece used on craigslist or ebay

Quick note on the DIY water changer, I made one from cheep garden hose, a water bed fill/drain kit and a piece to shut the flow off (forgot what its called but its standard on garden hoses). After that you just need what ever adapters to fit your faucet. I ran the hottest water I could through the hose for roughly a hour a day for a few weeks before I used it to try and get rid of any chemicals in the hose and I've been using it for two months with no problems. The whole set up cost me 15 bucks vs the 50 or 60 for a python even if it doesn't work as well it cost a lot less.

LOL....went ahead and ordered the Python from Amazon ($40), and will let Lauren know that she has a few more chores to do around here to make up for it :)...thanks guys for the homemade siphon tips, but I'm not much of a DIY-er....until the kit comes, I will start doing the 50% water change the manual way, daily, per Hardy85's instructions...

This is a great forum with great help...

After we get our tank environment fish-friendly again, I'll be asking more questions about what other types of fish we can add that will play well together...

It hooks to the sink and makes it very easy, there are DIY versions of these out there too

-To do a good water change without any special tools, just scope or siphon out 50% of the water into buckets etc
-Add in enough of a dechlorinator to treat the entire tank, so with a 10 gallon tank, if you do 50% water change, add enough dechlor to treat 10 gallons, not just 5
-Add water back in gently, as to not slam the water into the fish, I used to set the cup in on an angle and slowly dump it out

The reason the siphons or gravel vacs are good is because if you don't clean the gravel it can lead to issues. I don't clean my gravel often, but only b/c I have a heavy planted tank that can absorb the wastes. For now though just change the water out, and get a gravel vac or something next time your out (or order offline to save a few $)

Hey Hardy, real quick, add the de-chlorinator to the fresh water or the 50% tank water that's left after scoping?

Ouch. I would not have purchased a python for a 10 gallon tank. If you had something like 40 gallons or several tanks, then sure, but how hard is it to draw out a pail of water from a 10 gallon.
Slow down there dad. Now ya gotta go buy a 55 gallon!